Mara lúcia fabiano soares the importance of coursebooks for teachers of English as a foreign language

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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12 
CONTENTS 
 
1.
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………. 7 
2.
Theoretical Background …………………………………………………………….. 9 
2.1
- Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes ………………………………………………… 9 
2.2
- External factors that influence the teacher’s decisions ……………………….. 12 
2.3
- ELT materials provided by publishing houses
 
………………………………..
 
16 
3.
Research Methodology ……………………………………………………………... 22 
4.
Analysis of Data ……………………………………………………………………. 25 
4.1
- The importance of a coursebook for a teacher …………………………………25 
4.2
- The features and benefits teachers consider when choosing a coursebook ……27 
4.3
- The importance teachers think coursebooks have for their students ………… 30 
5.
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………….. 31 
6.
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………... 33 
7.
Appendix 1 …………………………………………………………………………. 35 
8.
Appendix 2 …………………………………………………………………………. 36 

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13 
 
1 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 

As an English teacher I have worked for nearly ten years at language schools and regular 

schools as well. As an ELT promoter I have worked during the last three years and a half for a 
foreign publishing house here in Brazil presenting coursebooks for teachers and coordinators. 
Added to that, while being a promoter, in many occasions I was assigned to host writers and 
editors from abroad during their stay in Brazil. Consequently, throughout my professional career 
I could realize that coursebooks always had been an important, if not the most important, 
teaching material for most EL teachers. Thus, this study is an attempt to detect whether this view 
holds any truth or not. However, I had no systematic basis for this view. Thus, the present study 
is an attempt to examine how important teaching materials, more precisely coursebooks, actually 
are for teachers, by conducting interviews with teachers. 

In the beginning of the term English teachers and pedagogical coordinators who work in 

private schools face the challenge of choosing the more suitable teaching materials for the period. 
According to Richards (1998) for most teachers the textbook represents the main source of ideas 
for teaching. Also, there is the belief among teachers that teaching and learning can be successful 
with textbooks written by specialists. Therefore, the usual attitude of most teachers is to focus 
their concern mainly on textbooks, dispreferring other resources for language learning such as 
other printed materials, language laboratory facilities, videos / DVDs, audio cassettes / CDs, 
television, songs, tours – just to mention a few other recourses. Besides, a book still is the 
cheapest learning material available and it does not depend for its use on any engine or electrical 
equipment.
Ur (1999:193) has categorically assessed a coursebook as a necessary resource for teachers: 

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14 
‘Personally, I very much prefer to use a coursebook. I find that a set framework helps me 
to regulate and time my program; and, perhaps paradoxically, provides a firm jumping-off 
point for the creation of imaginative supplementary teaching ideas. […] It seems that the 
possession of a coursebook may carry a certain prestige.’ 
Here, I shall look at three factors that influence the choice of this kind of language teaching 
materials. First, there is the English Language Teaching approach as a result of the teacher’s 
beliefs and experience. Second, there are external factors that restrain the teacher’s decision of 
adopting non-traditional strategies and methods of teaching. And third, there is the huge supply 
of ELT materials provided by the publishing houses nowadays.